


sugar and spice

by hullomoon



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Baking, Fluff, Fruitcake, M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:48:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27769297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hullomoon/pseuds/hullomoon
Summary: With their first Christmas hosting at the cottage quickly approaching, Patrick decides to make the Brewer family fruitcake
Relationships: Patrick Brewer/David Rose
Comments: 28
Kudos: 73
Collections: Schitt's Creek: Frozen Over (2020)





	sugar and spice

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [SCFrozenOver2020](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/SCFrozenOver2020) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
> 
> Patrick loves fruitcake. Maybe he decides to make the Brewer family fruitcake for David.
> 
> This was such a lovely prompt and was a delight to write for. Thanks to the mods for creating the event! Because I love to commit to my research I actually made my first fruitcake. The recipe I used was from [King Arthur](https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/everyones-favorite-fruitcake-recipe) and it came out pretty well.

It was finally December which meant one thing for Patrick: It was fruitcake time. Rachel used to gently tease him about it, called him an old man, and asked if he had any Werther’s originals in his pockets whenever he brought the food up. 

He grabbed the recipe tin from its spot on the counter and flipped through the tabs until he landed on desserts. He hadn’t had a proper Brewer fruitcake in years since he didn’t go home the last couple of years. This year he and David decided to celebrate the holidays at the cottage and invite their families. Patrick wanted to make his dad proud which meant he had to make a tester cake. 

Hands landed on his shoulders, lightly rubbing before a kiss landed on his right cheek. He turned around to see David behind him, a look of mischief in his eyes. 

“What are you making for me tonight?” David asked.

“Eventually a fruitcake.”

David raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t know this was a fruitcake household.”

Patrick moved out of David’s hold and pulled a recipe card out of the tin. “It’s a Brewer tradition. I want to make it for when my parents come down to visit, so I need to practice.”

David lightly tapped his fingers on Patrick’s shoulder. “I’m sure you can find someone who’ll taste test for you.”

Patrick furrowed his brows. “You don’t want to?”

David pulled his face into a slight grimace and shook his head. “I’ve eaten a few things that claimed to be fruitcake in the past that weren’t good so I’m a little put off on it.”

“Well, I’m sure that’ll change once you’ve had mine.”

“You seem very confident, hope I don’t burst your bubble,” David replied as he moved around Patrick and grabbed a pan. “Now, I’m still hungry so why don’t you go do whatever you need to with that recipe and I’ll make dinner.”

“I’ll have to get a few things from Brebner’s.” Patrick kissed David. “I should be back in twenty minutes.”

\---

Patrick sat his tote on the counter and started bringing out its contents. David walked up to him and gave him a kiss.

“Seems like a lot of fruit.”

Patrick glanced at the small pile of dried fruit. “Maybe, the recipe says it’s little over a kilogram.”

“How’s that going to fit into one cake?”

He gave a small laugh. “Fruitcakes are usually dense, but in this case, the recipe makes two loaves. I plan on making one of the loaves for the tester, do any necessary adjustments, and then bake the final loaf for when everyone is here.” 

After dinner, he went back to the kitchen to prep the fruit. 

Patrick sat out a cutting board and a glass bowl. He opened up the various dried fruit packages. He cut up the dates, apricots, and pineapples into smaller pieces and threw them into the bowl. He rinsed his fingers to get the sticky residue. Golden raisins and candied cherries were measured out and added in. Finally, he poured brandy over the fruit until it was all covered. 

Patrick reached into the cupboard and pulled down two glasses. He poured a generous amount of brandy in both and headed toward the living room. 

"Here you go. If the fruit gets to have a drink I thought we should too" he said as he held out a glass to David. 

"Thank you," David replied as he took the glass.

He sat down on the couch and took a sip, savoring the warm feeling as it went down. He snuggled up against David as he turned his attention to  _ The Crown _ .

\---

The following afternoon, Patrick came back from the vendor run to start on the fruitcake. He put on David’s diva playlist and headed into the kitchen.

He started a mise en place, laying out butter and eggs, and measured out the spices into a small bowl. He pulled a scale out from the drawer and placed a medium-sized bowl on top. He weighed out brown sugar and placed it into a larger bowl. He got out a pan and poured pecans on it, letting them toast. 

Patrick cut the butter into small squares and mixed it and the brown sugar together. He threw the spice mix in next. The scent of cinnamon and allspice hit his nose. He turned to the stove and switched off the burner, and moved the pan to the counter. 

He carefully incorporated four eggs into the batter and watched as it went from crumbles to a smoother consistency. Patrick’s arm ached as he incorporated the flour and golden syrup next. He poured in the apple juice next and slowly stirred it in, making sure not to splash it everywhere. The last to go in was the fruits and pecans. The bowl was heavy as Patrick gripped it tightly and folded everything in. 

The batter was thick and instead of pouring it into the loaf pan he used the spatula to slap it in, a smile of satisfaction on his lips as he heard the thwack of the batter hitting the pan He smoothed the top down and slid it into the oven. Patrick set a timer for two hours and moved on to cleaning up the kitchen.

An hour in he opened the stove door and rotated the loaf. He smiled at the light golden color that had already developed. 

He moved over to the couch, adjusted the pillow, and threw the blanket over himself. 

The timer jarred him awake and he tripped over the blanket as he headed into the kitchen. He opened the oven door, grabbed an oven mitt, and pulled the oven rack forward. The fruitcake was slightly burnt around the edges. He grabbed a toothpick from the box and inserted it into the cake. A few crumbs stuck to it as he pulled it out. 

Satisfied he pulled the pan out and sat it on a trivet. Setting another timer he got out a cooling rack, pastry brush, and small bowl. He poured a healthy splash of brandy into the bowl. 

When the timer rang he ran an offset spatula around the edges of the fruitcake and flipped it onto the cooling rack. 

It stuck slightly and with one heavy shake, it fell free. 

"Fuck."

Part of the fruitcake stuck to the loaf pan. He used the spatula to free the fruitcake and then placed them onto the other part of the fruitcake even though he knew it wouldn't fuse back together. 

Instead, he gave up, grabbed the pastry brush, and started applying the brandy. The strong scent of alcohol permeated his nose as he watched the fruitcake absorb the liquid. Careful not to over soak it, he stopped after a few passes. 

He fished a crumb from the pan and popped it into his mouth. The cake was moist and spicy, the toasted pecans a nice contrast in texture to the softened fruit. 

A door slam and a shout hello announced David's presence. 

"Come into the kitchen," Patrick shouted. 

David pressed a kiss to the back of his head and wrapped his arms around Patrick's waist. "What do we have here?"

"Slightly deformed fruitcake." He wiggled out of David's grasp and cut off a slice. He held it to David's lips. "Here try some."

He took a bite and Patrick stared at his face for his reaction. 

"So, you may have got me to reconsider fruitcake. You did a good job."

Patrick preened at the compliment. "Thank you."

\---

"Merry Christmas, Patrick," Clint said as he wrapped his arms around him. 

"Merry Christmas to you too," Patrick replied. "Everyone else is in the living room if you want to join them."

Clint let go of Patrick and headed further into the house. Marcy pressed a kiss to Patrick's cheek and handed off a covered dish. 

Patrick took the dish into the dining room and lifted the lid to reveal cheesy potatoes. His stomach rumbled and he let out a small laugh. He moved into the kitchen and saw David placing rolls into a towel-lined basket. "Is everything almost ready?"

"Just about," David moved to give Patrick a quick kiss, "You can go into the living room and tell everyone it's ready."

Patrick ran a hand down David's back and headed toward the living room where he could hear the sound of laughter. 

"...we felt bad that we blamed Patrick, but we didn't know anything about the mouse!" Marcy exclaimed. 

"It's amazing that despite not having any siblings I got blamed for things I didn't do," Patrick interjected. 

Marcy looked up at him with a wide smile. "You were always precocious as a child so it was only reasonable."

"I could behave when I wanted to. If you're done telling stories I came to say that dinner was ready."

Everyone got up from their seats and made their way to the dining room. The table was ladened with dishes and Patrick smiled to see everyone under one roof. 

The dinner was full of conversation and joy and after, when the food was put away and everyone had migrated back to the living room, Patrick grabbed a tin and some more plates. 

"If you still have room I made some fruitcake."

He opened the tin to reveal small, thick, pieces. 

Alexis clapped her hands. "Oooh!"

"Is this the family fruitcake?" Clint asked. 

"Yes," Patrick replied as he handed out plates. 

"You did a wonderful job, sweetheart," Marcy said. 

"Thank you."

Patrick sat down next to David, a grin on his face. He recalled when he was younger and his grandma and grandpa read  _ A Christmas Carol  _ aloud while he and his cousins sat at their feet and shoved fruitcake and other sweets in their mouths. This was different, but he loved the idea of making new memories with an old tradition. 


End file.
